U.S. economy adds 288,000 jobs in June as unemployment rate falls to 6.1%

The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, pushing the unemployment rate down to 6.1%, according to data released Thursday morning, July 3, by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate fell from 6.3% in May, as the number of people unemployed decreased by 325,000 to 9.5 million. The government said job gains were “widespread,” led by employment growth in professional and business services, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and health care.

Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons have declined by 1.4 percentage points and 2.3 million, respectively.

Revisions for data of the past two months also painted a brighter picture of the country’s jobs landscape. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for April was revised from +282,000 to +304,000, and the change for May was revised from +217,000 to +224,000. With the revisions, employment gains in April and May were 29,000 higher than previously reported.

Job growth has averaged 272,000 per month over the past three months, according to the BLS.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 67,000 in June; it had averaged 53,000 per month over the prior 12 months. Retail trade added 40,000 jobs last month, up from the 12-month average of 26,000.

The food services/drinking places category saw the number of jobs rise by 33,000 in June; it has increased by 314,000 over the past year, BLS reported. Health care employment increased by 21,000 in June, about in line with the prior 12-month average gain of 18,000 per month.

Momentum in the job market is helping people who have been out of work for some time. The number of long-term unemployed — those jobless for 27 weeks or more — declined by 293,000 in June to 3.1 million. They account for 32.8% of the unemployed.

BLS reported that the number of people employed part time for economic reasons increased by 275,000 in June to 7.5 million. The number of involuntary part-time workers “is down over the year but has shown no clear trend in recent months,” according to BLS.

The average workweek in June for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.5 hours — the fourth straight month with that figure. Both the manufacturing workweek, at 41.1 hours, and factory overtime, at 3.5 hours, were unchanged in June.

In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents to $24.45, following a 6-cent increase in May. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2%, BLS said.

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